Arrived in Switzerland: How life goes on after the rescue

Thurgau, Switzerland, 24th March

We are happy to share some updates of our Ukrainian friends with you, and we are even happier that those updates are images from smiling children. The host families do their best to make life as comfortable as possible for the refugees and to give them at least a small feeling of «home».

Today, the Thurgau region has shown its best side, with wonderful sun, temperatures above 10°C and the first signs of spring. Therefore, Nathaliia and her daughter enjoyed the trip to the center of Frauenfeld (and – of course – a stop at the waffle vendor 🙂 ) even more. Next to this, some smaller children could already visit the kindergarten. And a visit at the Zurich Zoo is already planned!

We’ll keep you updated!

Return journey and arrival: MiSANTO welcomes Ukrainian guests

Frauenfeld Bahnhof, Switzerland, 19th March 2022, 7.50 a.m.

Some helpers were probably up all night… Warlam wrote a message in our group chat this morning:

If these people need further help and support – always and everywhere very gladly. Best thanks to MiSANTO for so much humanism and generosity – it was fantastic!!!

Warlam, 19th March 2022

Frauenfeld, Switzerland, 18th March 2022, 11.30 p.m.

Finally they made it!

After thousands of kilometers and almost 48 hours of bus travel, they are back and have brought more than 60 refugees from war to Switzerland.

For all of them there are now some warm words of welcome from MiSANTO CEO Prof. Dr. Thomas Krech. Furthermore, the people get first information about the further procedure and the near future. Afterwards everybody is very hungry and glad for the warm dinner.

You can see how tired the people are, especially the children. For us here in Switzerland it is incomprehensible what these people had to go through. To have to leave home – the place where one should actually feel safe and secure – to leave everything behind – unimaginable. We therefore want to make their stay here as pleasant as possible. Before they go to their host families, the children receive a toy or a cuddly toy.

At this point we would like to say a huge thank you to all the helpers – especially to our bus team. Great organization, great action!

More updates will follow, but now everyone has earned a good, restful night.

Frauenfeld, Switzerland, 18th March 2022, 10.30 p.m.

Our team on site is in close contact with the team on the bus. Around 9:30 p.m., we have learned that the bus has crossed the Swiss border – the arrival in Frauenfeld is estimated at 11 p.m.. Therefore, everything is already prepared in Frauenfeld, including a hot dinner for everyone.

In addition, we have prepared a welcome sheet for all refugees, where they receive the most important information. How do I find my way around in Switzerland? Where can I find public transportation and where is the best place to buy food? These are all things that you need to know first.

Also, host families have already been found for all of the Ukrainian friends. Each of the refugees can therefore immediately go to his permanent residence (at least for the next few months) and hopefully find a bit of peace.

Kriessern, Switzerland, 18th March 2022, 9.30 p.m.

The bus passed the Swiss border! Soon they will arrive…

Frauenfeld, Switzerland, 18th March 2022, 4.00 p.m.

At the same time in Frauenfeld: The Kita Bärenhöhle Frauenfeld daycare center is also getting involved: refugee mothers can drop by with their small children and enjoy the peaceful daycare center routine. The children will surely be happy about new playmates on both sides! Thank you very much at this point, dear team of the Kita Bärenhöhle Frauenfeld.

Nickelsdorf, Austria, 18th March 2022, 4.00 p.m.

After another 12 hours of driving, our team has arrived in Austria. As you can see, the bus is now full: more than 60 people, including more than 20 children, have found a place.

Hungarian-Ukrainian border, 18th March 2022, 4.30 p.m.

The team around Warlam is on the way to Switzerland again. With them are more than 60 refugees from Ukraine. All of them are tired and still nervous, but are now trying to get some sleep. Another 24 hours of travel lie ahead of them.

Outbound journey to the Ukrainian-Hungarian border

Hungarian-Ukrainian border, 17th March 2022, 11.40 p.m.

Our buses arrived at the Hungarian border with Ukraine. The rest of this almost 24-hour journey also went well. Now our team is waiting for the people who will take them to Switzerland.

Szombathely, Hungary, 17th March 2022, 10.30 a.m.

The team has arrived in Hungary, the journey is going without any problems until here.  

Gossau, Switzerland, 16th March 2022, 11.50 p.m.

Everything is packed, the seats of our bus are prepared, everyone is ready to go – we can start. The bus sets off with Warlam, Tobias, Christian, Daniel, Thomas and Mäggy towards Hungary around midnight.

How it started: MiSANTO’s initiative to help people affected

Frauenfeld, Switzerland, 16th March 2022, 8.00 p.m.

As a telemedicine company, we want to make it easier and more convenient for people to visit their doctor without compromising the quality of medical services. Whereby – with us, no physical visit is necessary at all. Because we at MiSANTO are a team of doctors who care for you – our patients – digitally or by phone.

The war in Ukraine has also hit us hard. At the beginning, we probably felt just as helpless and powerless as you do. But thanks to our great and dedicated team, we developed a concept within a very short time, how we can help after all. Maybe not all, maybe not even many – but every person we can help counts.

Those affected are currently lacking not only food, hygiene articles and shelter. They also lack medical assistance. Their family doctor seems to be unreachable – possibly he is on the run himself, or the way there is simply too dangerous.

So we started to make our service available to those affected by the war. This was not so easy, as we first had to think about new phone numbers, interpreters and Cyrillic characters. But we did it and the service is ready. All those affected by the war as well as refugees can contact us at any time in case of pain, infections or other medical problems.

But that’s not all – as MiSANTO we want to help further! For this reason, we have mobilized a Russian-speaking doctor, three drivers, an interpreter and a hostess, who will set off tonight at 10 pm with a bus full of provisions to the Hungarian-Ukrainian border, where they will pick up 70 refugees and bring them to Switzerland.

We are supported by Ramsauer Carreisen, Druckfabrik Zueri and Paul Schockemoehle Logistics – already at this point we would like to thank you a thousand times for your help! Thank you for making this happen together.

This is how we try to make our small contribution.

More to follow soon, stay tuned!

Your MiSANTO-Team